The Past and the Tape

"Professor Mornye?"

Rover looked in confusion at Mornye, who had walked up to her.

Unlike Rover, Mo Bai simply felt that Mornye didn't look like a professor at all.

Being a little short was nothing unusual in this fantastical world. It was her reserved personality that made Mo Bai doubt her.

"D-do I really not look like a professor?"

Seeing Rover's puzzled expression, Mornye immediately grew anxious.

Rover quickly waved a hand and shook her head.

Watching from the side, Mo Bai found the exchange rather funny.

They were like two big cats.

One desperately wanted to prove herself to the other, while the other was afraid of hurting her pride.

"I'll take you to record your tapes."

As though she felt her reaction had been unbecoming, Mornye promptly composed herself.

Mo Bai and Rover exchanged a glance, then followed her.

On the way to record their tapes, Mornye explained the strange phenomenon they had just witnessed.

"What you saw were memories belonging to former teachers, staff, and students of the academy. It happens from time to time."

Mornye was talking about the memories of other people that had appeared in Mo Bai's and Rover's minds.

As they walked, Mornye began explaining the tapes.

"Lahai Luo has always been shrouded by the Void Threnodian, so we invented these Tacet Discs. They preserve the frequencies and memories of people swallowed by a Voidmatter Magnetic Storm."

Mornye's explanation made Mo Bai think of coffins.

Carrying a record of your entire life wherever you went sounded rather bleak.

It was as if the students here could be killed by some outside force at any moment.

From the sound of it, a Tacet Disc was all that remained of someone caught in a Voidmatter Magnetic Storm.

With that thought, Mo Bai glanced to the side.

Several Tacet Discs sat along the wall, with names written beneath them.

They were probably left by people who had died—some of the few things proving those people had once lived.

"All right. The recording room is just ahead."

Following Mornye's gesture, Mo Bai and Rover saw a cylindrical room enclosed in transparent glass.

"You go first. I'll look around a little longer," Mo Bai said.

Even if he had come from another world, he didn't think he was anyone remarkable compared with Rover.

As far as Mo Bai was concerned, he was just a small-time nobody who had gotten absurdly lucky.

"Mm."

Rover nodded and headed for the recording room without standing on ceremony.

They had gotten to know each other well enough on the way here. There was no need to fuss over who should go first.

Click—

Once the recording room door shut, Mo Bai looked around at the equipment and researchers.

Most of the researchers were frowning as they worked frantically through the data in front of them.

As for Mornye...

Mo Bai noticed her watching Rover inside the recording room with concern written all over her face.

That wasn't the expression of someone meeting Rover for the first time.

And Dr. Lu had acted as though Rover was an old acquaintance too...

They must have known each other before. So why did Rover seem to know nothing about them or Star Torch Academy?

Click—

Rover's Tacet Disc finished recording, and she came out looking somewhat dazed.

She glanced in confusion at Mornye, who was looking right back at her.

With that bewildered expression, she looked like a deer.

"Do you need to rest for a bit?" Mo Bai asked as he approached.

"No..."

When Rover shook her head, Mo Bai glanced at Mornye behind her.

"Then go talk to Professor Mornye. She knows far more than I do, so she might be able to tell what's going on with you." With that, Mo Bai headed for the recording room.

He had only asked Rover because he felt that was what a friend should do. Nothing more.

Click—

The Tacet Disc in front of him dropped into a slot, and its disc began to turn slowly.

Then the research facility vanished before Mo Bai's eyes, replaced by scenes from his past.

Honestly, Mo Bai didn't think there was much worth seeing.

If he had to describe it, he would probably call it a boring life.

He had been born into a family that was neither rich nor poor. He had pursued his studies, but his results were middling. In the end, uncertainty about his future had driven him to lose himself in the online world.

If a sudden car accident hadn't sent him to another world, Mo Bai figured his life would have stayed that dull until the end.

No.

Even after crossing into another world, he didn't expect to accomplish anything great.

He had never wanted much. The internet had already satisfied his curiosity about the things he wanted to see.

For a moment, he felt he had wasted his ticket to another world.

Buzz—

The scene shifted again, and he found himself in that familiar pitch-black space.

This was where the Goddess resided.

"Hey."

When the Goddess greeted him, Mo Bai knew this wasn't a memory.

She had probably pulled his consciousness here somehow.

She was a Goddess, after all. Mo Bai wouldn't have been surprised if she could do that.

"Why drag me here all of a sudden? Am I too boring for you?" Mo Bai sat down on the ground.

Truth be told, he had no respect whatsoever for this "benefactor" who had thrown him into another world.

She had nearly made him fall to his death.

"You really are boring~ I was hoping for a good show, like Star Torch Academy treating you as an intruder. But that Rover went and protected you~"

The Goddess sighed at the end.

"Oh well. You haven't even been in Solaris for a full day. There'll be plenty more fun waiting for you."

Mo Bai frowned at her words.

By now, he knew what kind of person this Goddess was.

A rotten one.

And if someone like her said there was fun ahead, it could only mean trouble for him.

"I can only talk to you this time because of the special circumstances. I guess I'll see you next after you die. Bye-bye~"

"Wait!"

As the Goddess waved her hand, Mo Bai hurried to stop her.

He still wanted to ask her about the Threnodian, and why she could give him Cursed Energy and techniques so easily.

But before Mo Bai could get the words out, the recording room reappeared before his eyes.

Click—

Mo Bai picked up his Tacet Disc and walked toward Rover and Mornye.

"Mm. This student's Tacet Disc recorded normally."

As Mo Bai approached, the researcher responsible for the Tacet Discs let out a breath of relief.

That Goddess is something else. She must have altered how my past looks to that researcher.

But judging by what the researcher had said, had something gone wrong with Rover's Tacet Disc?

With that thought, Mo Bai looked toward Rover and Mornye.

They seemed to have just finished discussing something.

"All right. Now that Mo Bai is out too, I'll explain a few more things the Tacet Discs can do."

Seeing Mo Bai approach, Mornye began explaining to both him and Rover.

"Tacet Discs can warn you when a Voidmatter Magnetic Storm is approaching and offer a little protection from its effects."

As if something had just occurred to her, the short professor quickly added a warning.

"Of course, that doesn't mean you can charge into a Voidmatter Magnetic Storm whenever you like just because you have a Tacet Disc. Safety comes first."

At the sight of the little professor's stern expression, Mo Bai and Rover couldn't help smiling as they agreed.

Mo Bai, for his part, didn't think he'd be charging into anywhere that dangerous.

"Professor Mornye! Where are you right now?! Dr. Anselm! Please calm down!"

Just then, an urgent voice came through the earpiece Mornye was wearing. It sounded like someone was trying to contact her.